Living Dead Girl
by Hayden G. Olivia
Summary: The authorities claim that Sam Puckett drowned three years ago. But Freddie Benson has remained convinced that somehow, Sam lived, that she's still alive today. Admitted into Troubled Waters for his "depression", Freddie meets a fascinating girl called Melanie, an amnesiac with aggressive tendencies. Does Melanie hold the key to the truth of Sam's death?
1. A Petite Blonde

**Chapter One**: A Petite Blonde

* * *

It didn't matter what anyone else said; in Freddie's mind, Sam Puckett was still alive and kicking.

It had been about three years since the terrible news came in: Samantha M. Puckett was dead, having drowned in a river near her mother's then-boyfriend Diego's home sometime during the summer vacation. Following the news came floods of tears, bulged eyes of shock, speeches of pain... Freddie couldn't help but think how it was not only a painful aftermath, but a frustrating one. People Sam had never liked - people Sam had openly _hated _- were now suddenly expressing their love for the girl, and Freddie couldn't stand it.

Freddie couldn't stand knowing that all these people were faking mourning at a girl who didn't even like them.

At a girl he was certain wasn't even dead.

The idea had crept up on him slowly at first. He would just lie awake thinking sometimes about how much he missed her, how badly he wanted to see her, touch her, _hear _her again. He remembered all the little things about her, how she wasn't just an aggressive eater but how she was pretty damn intelligent a naturally gifted athlete, especially when it came to swimming.

_Especially when it came to swimming_. So how could she have drowned?

Carly assumed that Freddie was just going through a stage of denial in the grieving process, and shrugged it over. "He'll get over it eventually," she said to Spencer one time, when she thought he wasn't listening.

But the feelings never did fade that maybe, somehow, Sam was still out there. Still living, still breathing.

Even weirder was the fact that they'd never found Sam's body. Somebody had found a bloody shoe and some torn, bloody pieces of clothing either in or around the river - Freddie couldn't really remember - and got suspicious. Had someone been beaten? Was someone running away? Searches conducted by the police indicated that she had drowned, but Freddie couldn't buy that knowing that she could've just been trying to get away from something - or someone. Freddie knew that Sam's father was a sketchy guy. Maybe he'd come back, tried to hurt her and her family again, and she'd just run instantly.

That made more sense to him than anything else he'd heard on the matter. Made more sense than her being dead, at least.

But eventually, Carly, Spencer and Freddie's mom agreed that Freddie's obsession with finding Sam - and his insistence that she was still alive - was all just getting out of hand. He should have accepted her death by now. He should've been _okay with it _by now. And the fact that he wasn't? Well, that was just crazy.

Crazy enough, it seemed, for Troubled Waters.

Freddie had only been here for a week, but already it was torture. And now they were introducing some sort of Buddy Program, too, for reasons he didn't understand or care about. He just wanted to get out. Get out and look for Sam. Get out and _find_ Sam and prove that he wasn't actually crazy, that he was actually the only sane man.

"...why we've decided to introduce the Buddy Program," continued a curly-haired intern in a bored monotone, reading from a page on her clipboard. "We believe that this will help all of you to better adapt to your environment and to gain inspiration by learning of other's struggles and how they're getting through the most difficult and painful moments in their treatment. You've all been paired up randomly with a fellow patient of the opposite sex - however, as there are a few more men than women here, there are a few exceptions to this. So without further ado, here are your buddies." She cleared her throat as she flipped the page on her clipboard. "Jenna Aarons, your partner is Marcia Lewis. Leslie Aniston, your partner is Dylan Storm..."

Freddie looked around the room. Most of the other patients ranged from the mid-twenties to late-thirties. He didn't really know who he'd be able to actually form a bond with if he got paired with anyone. Nobody would understand him, really, and he wouldn't understand them.

"Freddie Benson, your partner will be..." The intern looked down briefly, but met Freddie's gaze almost immediately after. Freddie was surprised the intern even knew who he was. "Melanie Puckett."

Freddie's eyes widened. _Melanie Puckett_. Puckett. Were they _serious_? Why do that to him? Put him with a _Puckett_, no less!

And then he remembered something. That specific name. Melanie Puckett. Who was Melanie -

_Sam's twin sister!_ No way. That ... that was just strange. Maybe Melanie knew something about Sam - what had happened, whether she really was alive, where she could be...

But then again, he wasn't sure how much of that story had actually been true, and how much of it had been fabricated. Maybe this was actually the _real_ Sam Puckett, just going by a fake identity.

But ... why would she do that?

Freddie couldn't think about it too deeply, because in the next minute, one of the other interns was dragging him along the hallway, and he was thrust into a tiny room that smelled of dirty socks.

And a petite blonde followed immediately after.

_Melanie Puckett._

"H-hey," Freddie stammered. He stuck out his hand awkwardly. "Freddie Benson."

Melanie stared at his hand and nodded, saying nothing. Freddie allowed his hands to drop, and took the opportunity to size Melanie up. She appeared to be slightly shorter than Sam, her skin was more tanned, and her hair was far straighter. But somehow, Freddie knew that Melanie was the real deal, that she was Sam's twin if she ever really had one. Somehow, doubt still lingered, but mostly because Freddie was still deciding whether this was Melanie or Sam. He so badly wanted it to be Sam. He would give anything for the scenario.

"What are you here for?" asked Freddie, trying to keep the conversation going.

Melanie looked up at him and spat, "None of your business."

"Well, if I'm gonna be your buddy, it kind of _is_ my business."

Melanie rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine," she said. "I'm here because ... well, I don't remember."

"You don't remember why you're here."

"No. I just don't remember. Anything. They told me my name was Melanie Puckett, but I'm still not sure if that's true." After a small pause, she asked, "What about you?"

"The forms will tell you it's depression or PTSD or something like that," he said. "But the truth is, I..." He stopped and looked at her, suddenly not sure how to go on. _I think your sister - who's been dead for three years - is secretly still alive and somehow on the run?_ Yeah, no. "Well," he said slowly, "my friend supposedly died a couple of years back, but I ... I have this idea that maybe she's still out there somehow."

Melanie's eyes widened slightly. "What's your name again?"

"Freddie Benson." He was curious as to why she so suddenly seemed very interested in him.

"Oh, wow," she murmured.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"'Oh, wow' what?"

"Oh. Um. Nothing." Melanie shook her head furiously. "Forget I cared."

"Why do you care?"

"I said, forget about it!" The death glare that followed this encouraged Freddie to shut his mouth.

"Well," said Melanie. "I guess we should get started explaining our 'battles' and all that crap. I'll go first."


	2. Far From Stupid

Shout out to **samandfreddie**, **LadyJames**, **Seddiefriedchicken**, **RAWR. and Peyton**, **Invader Johnny** and **Ruki-0408** for leaving reviews! This chapter is dedicated to you guys.

**IMPORTANT NOTE**: I'd just like to point out that I _am_ a boarding school student, so I can only really can upload things during weekends and holidays (and I'm not free _every_ weekend). So this story WILL not be updated on a regular daily/weekly basis - I shall just update when my chapters are ready and I'm proud of my work, which could be any time, really. But I don't plan on abandoning the story - not yet anyhow. :-P

Thanks for understanding. :-)

* * *

**Chapter Two**: Far From Stupid

"Melanie Jessica Puckett," Melanie began. "That's what the forms tell me. That's who I'm supposed to be."

"But?"

"What?" Melanie looked slightly annoyed.

"Well ... you don't sound like you ... _believe_ you're Melanie Puckett." Freddie was still clinging to that little rope of hope, that maybe, _just _maybe, she was really Sam - even if she didn't know it yet.

"What can I say?" Melanie shrugged. "I just don't buy it."

"You don't?"

"All the records I checked, they say that this Melanie girl I'm supposed to be was a star student. Straight As. She was an honour roll student, dude. She was on the cheerleading squad, the photographer for the school newspaper _and_ yearbook, part of the school's community service committee and, to top it off, junior class president. She did all this in a fancy-schmany _private school_ which she got into on a _full scholarship_. I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like me." Melanie was sitting on one of the wooden chairs with her arms wrapped around her knees, which acted as a headrest for her. She shook her head, disbelieving of all the things that were supposed to be her. "She was so ... she was _boring_. This Melanie girl didn't add a touch of excitement to her life. I'd absolutely hate to live like that." She wrinkled her nose. "I hate that I did."

Freddie, sitting across from her on an identical chair, whispered, "That they _say_ that you did." She was sounding more and more like Sam Puckett with every sentence, and Freddie was more than eager to cling to that possibility. He added, in a louder voice, "They could've gotten some stuff wrong." _Like your whole identity._

But Melanie shook her head. "No, I've seen the school pictures, my passport, my driving license. I'm that girl. I am Melanie Puckett. I don't want to be, but you know." She shrugged. "I guess I just have to accept that truth, you know?"

Freddie resisted openly arguing with this statement. He'd just met the girl - he couldn't introduce all his wacky theories on top of her head the way he wanted to. She'd think he was crazy - and he didn't want _another_ person thinking that. "Yeah, I get that."

"So..." Melanie nodded. "Where do you come from, Freddie? What's your story? You know, since you have the luxury of memory."

Freddie cringed slightly and sighed. "Sometimes, I wish I didn't. I wish I didn't know her," he said. "She caused me hell."

"You mean ... the girl who died?"

Freddie nodded. "Yeah. She was so... I mean, she was wild, aggressive. She couldn't be tamed. She got detention every second day... She was a bully, really. But at the end of the day, she was always there for you. All the time."

"So you've been suffering from depression since she died?"

"Well, I think when my mom signed all the forms, she _said_ I was depressed. But they all say I'm paranoid - my mom and all of my friends. They think I've really lost my mind. And I guess I can't blame them, really. I would think I was crazy, too, if I was someone else."

"You're still being pretty vague about what your problem is." Melanie gave him a small smile.

"No, I already told you. That girl - that wild one I just described - I don't think she really died. I think she's still out there, somewhere. I think she's on the run from something. Someone. That she just needs someone to go after her and find her and save her... And sometimes, I think _I'm_ that person. Like I'm the only one who can save Sam."

"Sam? I ... I have a sister called Sam. _Had_ a sister called Sam."

Freddie feigned surprise at this statement. Couldn't let her get too suspicious. He hoped he looked genuinely shocked; he wasn't exactly a star actor like Sam and Carly, he was just the director, the cameraman behind the scenes.

_You still have a sister named Sam. And I'll find her for you. If she's _not_ you._

"H-how do you know about your sister?"

"The records," said Melanie softly, but she wasn't really paying attention to him. She was staring at her knees, her eyebrows furrowed. She was clearly thinking very deeply about the current scenario. "I can't believe it ... that's so weird. She died a couple of years back, too. Just before I woke up here, I think. That's three years." Melanie looked up and right into Freddie's eyes with her blue jewels. It was the first time they'd made proper eye contact, and it just served as a painful reminder to Freddie of his old friend. He remembered not caring what the rest of Sam's body was like so long as he could stare into her eyes all day. They were the portal inside her brain, revealing her personality, her past, everything Freddie both loved and hated about his best friend. And now, standing before him, was an exact replica of this portal, but not revealing anything at all about the girl who owned it.

"Yeah," said Freddie, his voice barely even a whisper. "That's so weird."

"You're about to cry. You look like you're about to cry. What is it? What happened? Did I say something?"

"Huh? Sorry? No, no, no. Look, I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm..." Freddie allowed his voice to trail off as a pair of tears slid out of his eyes. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, trying to shut Melanie out so he could be alone in all his thoughts and memories. "I'm cool."

"You guys must've been close," Melanie acknowledged.

"Yeah."

"Hey. Open your eyes."

When he did so, he was surprised to find Melanie standing right in front of him, her back hunched over and her knees bent so she could look Freddie straight in the eye. Freddie noticed that she was much skinnier than Sam, that her body was far more like Carly's - a twig, really, and awfully bony. "It's okay for you to be sad," said Melanie. "You guys must have been close, so it's okay for you to be sad about her death. It's normal."

"But that's the _thing,_" Freddie said, sounding surprisingly urgent. It was as if this was a life or death situation - which, in a way, it kind of was. "She _didn't _die! She's alive!"

Melanie stepped back, raising her hands in surrender. "Okay, fine," she grumbled. "I'm sorry I disregarded your paranoia."

"I'm not paranoid."

"You sure do sound like it."

"Two seconds ago, _you_ sounded like you were trying to make friends."

"I've been here three years and I haven't made a single friend; I'm not about to start now, nub."

That stung Freddie for a moment. _Nub._ Who else could she be but Sam?

"What?" continued Melanie, misreading the expression on his face. "Did you think we were going to go skipping around the playground together or something sappy like that?"

Freddie stood up, fury prickling at his skin. "Shut up, you bitch."

Melanie's eyes turned into slits, and her face twisted angrily. Next thing Freddie knew, he was covering his throbbing eye and letting out a high-pitched cry of pain. It felt as if in that one single punch, Melanie had broken his entire face. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Nobody," hissed Melanie, walking towards the door, "calls me a bitch." The door slammed loudly behind her.

Freddie left the room a few minutes later, his mind still whirling. He was sure that at some stage during the intern's speech, he'd mentioned that their Buddy Time was supposed to be thirty minutes, but Sam - Melanie - had wrapped up in about half that time, and nobody had dragged her back into the room. Freddie was grateful for that, because it gave him some time to think about the meeting, about Melanie's sudden mood shift, about that beautiful, terrible _punch_ she'd given Freddie. She had quite an arm, that girl.

Sam did, too.

It occurred to Freddie, too, that the blonde was far from stupid, that she was catching on relatively quickly to Freddie's ideas. Granted, it wasn't like Freddie had been making it particularly difficult for Melanie to realize the connection - he was pretty much doing everything but directly telling her he thought she was Sam - but Freddie couldn't help but think how oblivious Carly would've been in a similar situation. Unless Carly was in danger, her mind generally passed off the possibility of mystery, and she accepted everything that was handed to her. It wasn't that she was stupid, exactly - she just didn't think deeply all the time, the way Freddie and Sam did. Sure, Carly hadn't grown up on the bad side of town with an abusive dad and a mother who really got around with some shady men the way Sam did, and she hadn't been pretty much genetically engineered by a slightly deranged mother who "just wanted the perfect child - and got it" like Freddie, so Freddie could at least understand why she wasn't like them. But sometimes, it exasperated him.

This girl, Melanie, was no Carly. But she wasn't exactly Sam, either. She seemed to be generally kinder on the whole. Until she'd freaked out and gotten all rude and violent, she had actually reached out to care for Freddie and comfort him, which wasn't something that Sam would ever do. Melanie seemed to be her own person. It was something that saddened Freddie, actually, because it felt like Melanie wasn't the girl he was looking for, but in a way, it sparked his curiosity even more. Could this have just been a part of Sam's personality she was hiding under her rough-and-tough demeanour? Could she have been a genuinely sensitive, sweet girl who'd just been forced to harden her heart because of previous consequences? Maybe ever since her memory got swiped, she'd forgotten that she'd had a reason to hide this aggressive nature, and just decided to let it all out...

It was kind of crazy for Freddie to think this way. But it excited him to no end.

Melanie Puckett had a lot of promise in her. She gave Freddie a lot of hope. He might've finally found the girl he'd been searching for all these years... He could prove everyone wrong... He could be _right_. The girl could be right in front of him.

He just needed to reach out to her.

And to do that, he needed to turn back, to start anew.

He needed to apologize, even though he felt that it had been Melanie who'd started things off in the first place with that jeering insult. Be the greater man, and don't expect an apology in return, because that wasn't a Sam Puckett move.

The next time he saw Melanie Puckett, the next time the Buddy Program period kicked off, he would start afresh.

And he would find Sam Puckett, either in Melanie or with her.

* * *

So that's it for chapter two, concluding my "intro-chapters", so to speak. I just wanted to use the two chapters to introduce you to Melanie and help better understand Freddie's situation. So as of now, the real action shall begin.

Don't forget to review, favourite and alert if you liked it and want to see more! ;-)


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